A brown bear that went on a rampage in the town of Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia, earlier this month and injured five people has been shot dead, said the country’s environment minister, on Wednesday (Mar 27). However, the fatal shooting of the bear has now sparked a debate as the country’s opposition party said that the authorities had shot the wrong bear.
What does the government say?
Slovakia’s Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba said that the bear who went on a rampage that left at least five people injured in the town of Liptovský Mikuláš has been shot dead.
The terrifying incident which occurred on March 17 was caught on camera where pedestrians were seen running away from the bear before it lunged at one person.
Two people, a 49-year-old woman and a 72-year-old man had to be hospitalised, while three others, including a 10-year-old girl, were left with cuts and bruises.
Taraba took to Facebook and said that the bear who had injured the five people had been fatally shot on Tuesday (Mar 26) night at around 9:50 pm (local time) and thanked those involved in the operation.
“A biometrics drone was used to identify it,” said the environment minister. Local media reports citing the State Nature Conservancy said that they used patrolling drones equipped with high-resolution cameras, thermal imaging and the latest surveillance tech to identify the bear.
State of emergency called off
The mayor of the town which had been left on edge after the bear attack called off the state of emergency.
Liptovský Mikuláš had declared a state of emergency after the bear attack asking people not to leave their homes and deployed six armed patrols to track it.
This incident took place close days after a separate bear attack where a 31-year-old woman from Belarus died after she was chased by a bear near the same town. She was later found by a search dog at the bottom of a steep ravine.
Wrong bear?
Members of Slovakia’s government led by populist nationalists said that the incident in Liptovský Mikuláš proved that some of the European Union’s environmental protections on wildlife, which prevents animals such as bears and wolves from being hunted, need to be relaxed.
On Wednesday, Slovakia’s government approved a draft law addressing bear attacks in urban areas. If passed, a 500-metre safety zone would be created around the towns and villages. Any bear entering this zone could be shot, said Taraba, as per AFP.
A member of the opposition Progressive Slovakia rejected the government’s claims and said they shot the wrong bear citing documents written by the “bear intervention team”.
“A 67-kilogramme female bear was caught and killed,” said Michal Wiezik, as quoted by AFP.
He added, “It is not necessary to use high-end biometrics to make it clear that such a shooting cannot be in any way related to the 100-kilogramme male they were looking for.”
(With inputs from agencies)
